In this article, we will discuss the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now.
According to McKinsey, AI has led to strong growth in the broader semiconductor industry; however, only the top 5% of companies have seen the benefits. The profitability and growth dynamics in the broader semiconductor industry have witnessed a significant transition over recent years. The industry encountered an impressive economic profit growth, increasing from $38 billion in the 2000–09 period to $450 billion in 2010–19, as per McKinsey analysis.
Rise in Global Semiconductor Sales
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced that global semiconductor sales came in at $179.7 billion during Q2 2025, reflecting a rise of 7.8% as compared to Q1 2025. Notably, the global sales amounted to $59.9 billion during June 2025, showcasing 19.6% growth YoY. As per John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO, the global chip sales remained robust in Q2, surpassing sales from Q1 by 8% and topping Q2 sales from last year by ~20%.
The YoY market growth stemmed from increased sales in the Asia Pacific and Americas markets, while annual global growth is expected for the second half of the year.
Amidst such trends, we will now have a look at the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now.
Our Methodology
To list the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now, we used a screener to shortlist the stocks catering to the broader semiconductor industry. Next, we selected the ones that were popular among hedge funds as of Q2 2025. Finally, the stocks are arranged in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiments.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now
10. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41
Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 17, Jay Goldberg, an analyst at Seaport Global, initiated coverage on the company’s stock with a “Buy” rating and set a price objective of $150. As per the analyst, Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) is recognized for its significant value in the broader semiconductor industry, with a focus on expanding into new markets and enhancing its content offerings. This strategic direction is anticipated to fuel growth and increase Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM)’s share of the industry’s value. Overall, the analyst noted the company’s potential as it embarks on the ambitious expansion.
In Q1 2026, the company’s Royalty revenue rose 25% YoY to $585 million, with growth coming from all target end markets, such as data center, automotive, smartphones, and IoT. This highlights the momentum the company has been building throughout every corner of its business. Arm Holdings plc (NASDAQ:ARM) continues to increase its revenue beyond mobile via the broadening range of products, such as CPUs and systems for markets like cloud, automotive, and IoT/embedded compute.
9. NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 53
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 19, NXP B.V., NXP Funding LLC, NXP USA, Inc. and NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) completed an underwritten public offering of $500,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 4.300% Senior Notes due 2028, $300,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 4.850% Senior Notes (which are due 2032), and $700,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 5.250% Senior Notes due 2035.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) and the Issuers plan to use net proceeds for the redemption of $500 million aggregate principal amount of outstanding dollar-denominated 5.350% senior unsecured notes due 2026, as well as $750 million aggregate principal amount of outstanding dollar-denominated 3.875% senior unsecured notes due 2026. Elsewhere, NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) delivered quarterly revenue of $2.93 billion in Q2 2025, with all the focus end-markets performing above expectations.
The company continues to drive strong profitability and earnings through strengthening its competitive portfolio and by aligning its wafer fabrication footprint with its hybrid manufacturing strategy.
8. Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54
Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 21, Citi maintained its “Buy” rating on the company’s stock with a price objective of $100, as reported by The Fly. As per the firm, the shares remain attractively valued, with Citi expecting a better 2026 for Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) backed by an improvement in wafer starts. The company, in collaboration with the Trump Administration, announced $700 million in domestic R&D spending over the span of the upcoming several years to ramp up semiconductor innovation.
In Q2 2025, Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG)’s revenue went up by 2% sequentially and remained above its guidance range. Growth was backed by demand for its unit-driven solutions, mainly CMP consumables, selective etch, and deposition materials. The semiconductor industry trends remain largely unchanged. Furthermore, AI-enabled applications have been fueling strong growth in advanced logic and HBM. Despite challenges, Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) expects stronger performance from its business in H2 2025.
The London Company, an investment management company, released its Q2 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Entegris, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTG) – ENTG continues to be weak due to challenges from underutilized mainstream fabs, less visibility in older technology, and weaker capex-driven demand. ENTG’s solutions for advanced technology and incremental wafer content gains continue to trend upward. ENTG is one of the most diversified players in the semi-materials industry, with its size and scale. We remain attracted to the industry’s high barriers to entry, limited competitors, and high switching costs.”
7. Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 21, it was announced that Multiply Labs developed a new robotic biomanufacturing cluster, which achieves a 74% cost reduction for life-saving cell therapies. This breakthrough leverages collaborative robot arms from Universal Robots (UR), ensuring a transformation in how such complex treatments are produced. Notably, Universal Robots is part of Teradyne Robotics, which is a division of Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER).
Notably, Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) saw revenue of $652 million for Q2 2025, of which $492 million was in Semiconductor Test, $75 million in Robotics, and $85 million in Product Test. With respect to Robotics, UR contributed $63 million, and MiR contributed $12 million. Also, the long-term drivers of AI and onshoring, and advanced robotics are intact.
Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER)’s Semiconductor Test Group saw better-than-expected results in Q2 2025. System-on-a-Chip (SOC), mainly for AI applications, acted as the strongest growth driver. Furthermore, the visibility into the remainder of the year improved, while demand continues to strengthen in compute, networking and memory. Parnassus Investments, an investment management company, released its Q3 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER), a supplier of automated test equipment for semiconductors, was affected by a broad sell-off in semiconductor-related stocks. We see some “green shoots” in demand and believe Teradyne is well positioned as artificial intelligence moves to smartphones and PCs.”
6. QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 76
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 26, Arete upgraded the company’s stock to “Buy” from “Neutral,” increasing the price objective to $200 from the prior target of $172. As per the analyst, QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)’s momentum is expected to build starting in FY 2027, considering the emerging opportunities in advanced driver-assistance systems, personal AI devices, robotics, data centers, and industrial automation.
According to the firm, the stock’s valuation demonstrates that QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is under distress, while the fundamentals remain healthy. The investors can reconsider the company, given that the management has been embarking on a transformation, opines Arete. In Q3 2025, QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) saw strong growth in QCT Automotive and IoT revenues, further validating the diversification strategy as well as confidence in achieving its long-term revenue targets. For Q4 2025, the company expects revenues in the range of $10.3 billion – $11.1 billion.
Mairs & Power, an investment advisor, released its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“The Information Technology sector underweight had the largest relative impact on returns during the quarter. Only one of the Fund’s technology holdings posted a positive quarterly return – QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) – making this a somewhat hollow outperformance. Qualcomm is a “value tech” company which has enviable cash flows but we believe has been consistently underappreciated in the market for its technology licensing business, which has frequently been targeted for legal action by some of its major customers. However, we believe it continues to prove its best-in-class technology and, despite companies attempting to circumvent Qualcomm, we continue to see a long-term position in the wireless technology space for the company.”
5. Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 20, the company announced its results for Q3 2025, with its revenue and EPS exceeding the high end of its expectations. Its revenues came in at $2.88 billion, with double-digit YoY growth throughout all end markets. Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)’s diluted EPS amounted to $1.04, up 32% YoY.
Amidst tariffs and trade fluctuations, demand for Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI)’s products is strong. Its emphasis on cutting-edge innovation places it well to capitalize on the growth of the intelligent physical edge. Furthermore, its diverse and resilient business model allows it to navigate different market conditions. Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) ended its Q3 2025 with continued backlog growth as well as healthy bookings trends, mainly in the Industrial end market.
For Q4 2025, the company expects revenue of $3.0 billion (+/- $100 million), while reported EPS is anticipated to be $1.53 (+/-$0.10), and adjusted EPS to be $2.22 (+/-$0.10). Kovitz Investment Group Partners, LLC, an investment management company, released its Q2 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“We reestablished a position in Analog Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADI) after the stock declined 30% from the point at which we sold it in late February. Analog is a technology leader in the analog semiconductor industry, a specialized market under the larger semiconductor banner. The company is characterized by 70% gross margins and #1 and #2 market positions in key segments within the industry. The company’s principal competitive advantage is its base of 11,000 analog engineers, skilled craftspeople with their education augmented by an average of over 7 years of on-the-job experience. We consider this engineering “asset” irreplaceable. While Analog does have exposure to economically sensitive industries like automotive production, industrial production, and “pro-sumer” electronics, its products are in high demand given that they enable most other cutting-edge technology products and processes that exist. High gross margins provide insulation against tariff effects. Given the better stock price, we think that having exposure to Analog stock over the next 5-7 years will be good for clients.”
4. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 81
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 22, TD Cowen reiterated its Buy rating on the company’s stock with a price objective of $200.00. The analysis comes during what it believes is an interesting earnings season for semicaps. The firm demonstrated confidence in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s market share position, noting that while investors can require more confidence, TD Cowen remains optimistic about the market share and stock set-up.
Furthermore, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) posted strong performance in its Q3 2025, and remains on track to deliver its 6th consecutive year of revenue growth in FY 2025. The company continues to navigate and adapt to the near-term uncertainties through its strong supply chain, global manufacturing footprint, as well as deep customer relationships. In Q3 2025, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) saw record revenue of $7.30 billion, up 8% YoY. For Q4 2025, it expects total net revenue of $6,700 million (+/- $500 million).
Matrix Asset Advisors, an asset management company, released its Q2 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“We started a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT), a global supplier of equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductors. Surging demand for advanced chips that fuel Artificial Intelligence (AI), and high performance computing is driving a significant investment in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. AMAT is well positioned to capitalize on this trend. The company has a track record of strong performance, consistently generating significant cash flow from operations, allowing it to invest in R&D and return value to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. This is an example of a company that we had previously done the work on hoping for an opportunity to add it to the LCV portfolio on price weakness. We started our position after the April 2nd reciprocal tariff announcements caused a sharp, short-lived market pullback.”
3. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 85
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 14, Erste Group resumed coverage of the company’s stock with a “Buy” rating. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) continues to benefit from the market growth for special machines for manufacturing semiconductor wafers. Furthermore, the analyst highlighted that it has a higher ROE and operating margin compared to its peer group.
For the quarter ended June 29, 2025, the company saw strong gross margins and record EPS. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) posted a US GAAP gross margin of 50.1%, a US GAAP operating income as a percentage of revenue of 33.7%, and a US GAAP diluted EPS of $1.35. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX)’s gross margins surpassed 50% for the first time since the merger of Lam and Novellus. The company saw record foundry revenues thanks to the strong performance in both gate-all-around and mature node markets. The 3D scaling of device and advanced packaging architectures has been supporting growth in etch and deposition intensity.
Columbia Threadneedle Investments, an investment management company, released its Q1 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“The portfolio’s holding in semiconductor equipment manufacturer Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) contributed positively to performance as the stock moved higher during the first quarter. We are excited about the prospects for Lam Research, as the firm recently announced its ATLUS Halo, a tool that harnesses the capabilities of the metal molybdenum in the production of leading-edge semiconductors. Tungsten-based atomic layer deposition, pioneered by Lam, has been the predominant metallization technique for semiconductor chip deposition for over two decades, but the switch to molybdenum will help create memory and logic semiconductors for the future. Chip makers will need to shift beyond what is currently possible with tungsten, and this change will require many to update with Lam equipment, leading to increased sales. The fund also held a position in Japanese semiconductor company Renesas Electronics, which contributed to performance relative to the benchmark. The first quarter saw a large rotation to international stocks outperforming domestic securities, due primarily to concerns about U.S. tariffs, and the fund’s exposure to international firms like Renesas proved beneficial.”
2. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 156
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 26, Broadcom Inc. announced that it is working to bring the latest NVIDIA AI technology to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF). As a result of this collaboration with NVIDIA, enterprises and cloud service providers would be empowered to build, deploy, and scale next-generation AI models on cutting-edge AI servers within their modern private cloud environments, while, at the same time, leveraging the trusted operational experience of VCF.
The generative, agentic, and physical AI applications continue to fundamentally transform the data center architectures, demanding unprecedented infrastructure capabilities. The expanded integration further builds on Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) and NVIDIA collaboration, adding support for NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and NVIDIA networking. VCF will support NVIDIA’s latest GPU architecture, which has been engineered for massive AI training, inference, and HPC at unprecedented scale.
Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its Q2 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a leading semiconductor and enterprise software company, generating approximately 60% of revenue from semiconductors and 40% from software. The company is strategically positioned at the intersection of high-performance AI compute and networking infrastructure, while also demonstrating disciplined execution in software. Broadcom has continued its leadership in networking silicon from the cloud era to the AI era and emerged as the most reliable silicon partner for AI foundational model builders to design custom chips to train and inference their frontier models. Shares rose during the quarter on continued momentum in Broadcom’s AI product lines. In its April quarter, Broadcom reported over $15 billion in total revenue, up 20%; over $4.4 billion in AI revenue, up 40%; and over $6.6 billion in software revenue, up 25%. Broadcom continued to demonstrate excellent profitability, with operating margins over 65% and free cash flow margins at 43%. On the company’s earnings call and during other public appearances, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan confirmed that all programs supporting the company’s projected $60 billion to $90 billion serviceable addressable AI market by 2027 were “on track,” inference demand had emerged as an important AI revenue opportunity, and that the company’s AI revenue growth should accelerate to the 50% to 60% level for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.”
1. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 187
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is one of the 10 Best Semiconductor Stocks to Buy Right Now. On August 28, Reuters, while quoting the company’s associate general counsel, reported that the company plans to market a system, which has been built to manage as well as leverage its trade secrets to companies in Europe and the US. The trade secrets registry system, which Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) started building in 2013, has been adopted by 20 local firms, which include ASE Technology Holding Co, reported Reuters, while quoting Fortune Hsieh (who is also the Chairman of Taiwan Association for Trade Secrets Protection).
In Q2 2025, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)’s revenue rose 11.3% quarter-over-quarter thanks to the robust demand for its industry-leading 3nm and 5nm technologies, partially mitigated by an unfavorable foreign exchange rate. Notably, 3nm process technology accounted for 24% of total wafer revenue in Q2 2025, with 5nm and 7nm accounting for 36% and 14%, respectively. The capex for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) on a consolidated basis came in at US$9.63 billion.
First Eagle Investments, an investment management company, released its Q2 2025 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) is the world’s largest semiconductor foundry, a primary manufacturer of advanced chips used in genera tive artificial intelligence with Nvidia, Broadcom, Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Apple among its clients. TSMC reported continued strong sales during the quarter, with an expanded contribution from AI. We believe TSMC has extended its edge over competitors to become the de facto foundry for many customers. The company has made significant efforts in recent years to geographically diversify its manufacturing base, including in the US.”
While we acknowledge the potential of TSM to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TSM and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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